JP2675520B2 - Transportation equipment for printed materials - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transport facility used for transporting, for example, a bundle of newspapers to another line, and more particularly to a gripper having a mechanism for gripping and releasing a bundle of printed matter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A bundle of newspaper printed by a rotary printing press is placed on a belt conveyor and conveyed, and all bundles or every other bundle is gripped and sent to a processing line such as subsequent shipping. For transporting such a bundle, a gripper mechanism, which is arranged corresponding to the traveling surface of the belt conveyor and sequentially clamps and transports the bundle on the belt conveyor by chain traveling, has been conventionally used.

As a conveying device provided with this gripper mechanism, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 2-241, a plurality of grippers that travel at the timing of feeding a bundle of printed matter are provided. It is commonly used to receive a bundle by a gripper and then release it in place and transfer it to another line.

The basic structure of the gripper mechanism is that the gripping claw is opened to receive the bundle according to the position of the bundle of printed matter supplied, and then the claw is closed and the bundle is conveyed while being clamped to the desired position. Then open the claws again to free the bundle. The opening / closing mechanism of the claw is an important element for handling such a bundle.

[0005]

However, in many of the above-mentioned publications and other conventional models, a drive mechanism for opening and closing the claw is incorporated in the gripper itself.
For this reason, the structure of the gripper itself becomes complicated and the weight also becomes large, and in equipment equipped with a large number of grippers, auxiliary equipment for maintenance and the like is indispensable.

Further, a cam mechanism provided on the surface on which the gripper travels so that the pawl mechanism is operated has already been adopted. However, the operation of opening and closing the pawl mechanism is not sufficient to be performed only by the cam mechanism, which causes troubles due to malfunctions and the like.

An object to be solved in the present invention is to enable a gripper to be opened and closed in a printed material transport facility with a simple mechanism and to reduce the weight of the gripper.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a plurality of grippers for restraining a printed matter are allowed to travel within a guide rail and are connected to a conveying means, and the printed matter is opened and closed by the gripper and traveling by the conveying means. The gripper is provided integrally with a base block, and the gripper faces the back side when viewed in the running direction and abuts against the upper surface of the printed matter, and the front side when viewed in the running direction. A blade having a base end on the side and a tip capable of gripping the printed matter together with the clamper by hitting the lower surface of the printed matter, and a swinging arm provided with the blade on one end side and swingably connected to the base block, A wheel mounted on the other end side of the swing arm and having a center of gravity biased toward the clamper side, wherein the guide rail is the wheel. With a cross section that restrains loose outer peripheral surface, a portion corresponding to the position of the receipt or Tokihanashi of the printed matter, characterized by comprising providing a bottom to increase the vertical freedom of the wheel.

[0009]

[Function] With respect to the wheel that is loosely restrained in the guide rail, the weight has been set so that the blade closes to the clamper via the swing arm, so that the wheel has a vertical degree of freedom. Then, this lowers by its own weight, and the blade can be shifted in the direction away from the clamper by the rotation of the swing arm. Therefore, when the gripper reaches the bottom portion of the guide rail, the closed blade is opened, the printed matter supplied from another line can be received, and the gripped printed matter can be released.

As described above, the gripper can be opened / closed only by the relationship between the guide rail and the wheel, and a special mechanism is also provided for locking the gripper during the closing period. It is not necessary, and the structure of the gripper itself can be simplified and the weight can be reduced.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a side view showing a part of a transfer facility according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a main part.

In the figure, a belt conveyor 50 that conveys a bundle P of printed newspapers is arranged with its conveying surface slightly upward, and a guide rail 1 is provided along the conveying surface of this belt conveyor 50. ing.

This guide rail 1 is formed in a loop shape, inside which a chain 2 which is connected to a drive mechanism (not shown) and runs in the direction of the arrow in the drawing is arranged.
A gripper 3 is connected to the chain 2 at regular intervals.

FIG. 3 is a view of the gripper 3 as seen from the front in the traveling direction, together with the guide rail 1 and the chain 2.
FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the front view, FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 3, and FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the guide rail 1 has a hollow structure having a rectangular opening cross section, and guide surfaces 1a, 1a of the gripper 3 which run on the inner lower surface and upper surface, respectively.
1b. A guide slit 1c is formed at the center of the guide surface 1a over the entire length in the line direction, and the guide slit 1c regulates the position of the gripper 3 in the width direction.

The chain 2 has its element 2a pin 2
They are connected to each other by b, and one guide roller 2c is rotatably provided at the rear end portion in the traveling direction.
The guide roller 2c has an axis of rotation that is orthogonal to the running direction of the chain 2 and an outer diameter that is slightly smaller than the opening width of the guide slit 1c. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. To position.

A base block 4 which is one member of the gripper 3 is connected to the chain 2 by a bolt 2d. The base block 4 includes a post 4a penetrating the guide slit 1c, and a clamper 4 protruding obliquely from the post 4a to the side opposite to the traveling of the gripper 3.
b.

As shown in FIG. 3, two swing arms 5 are swingably connected to the base block 4 by pins 5a. Base block 4 of swing arm 5 by pin 5a
As shown in FIG. 4, the contact point with respect to is located on the front side in the traveling direction of the gripper 3 and on the side opposite to the clamper 4b. A blade 5b for opening and closing with respect to the clamper 4b and restraining the bundle P of newspapers is provided at the tip of these swing arms 5.

This blade 5b has a shape capable of receiving a bundle P of newspapers, and when there is no external force acting, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 6, between the own weight of the blade 5b and the wheel described later. The balance of the weights of (1) and (2) causes the body to move away from the base block 4. A compression spring 5c for holding the blade 5b in such a posture is incorporated between the swing arm 5 and the base block 4. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the tip of the blade 5b abuts against the clamp rod 4b and is closed during the period other than the period for receiving and delivering the bundle P of newspapers while the gripper 3 is being guided and guided by the guide rail 1. Maintained in posture.

As shown in FIG. 3, the oscillating arm 5 has a shape to enter the inside of the guide slit 1c, and each of the bearings 6 has a wheel 6 that rolls inside the guide rail 1.
It is rotatably provided by a.

The outer diameter of the wheel 6 is slightly smaller than the distance between the upper and lower guide surfaces 1a and 1b of the guide rail 1. Therefore, the wheel 6 is positioned in the guide rail 1 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and if the guide rail 1 is in a substantially horizontal posture, the vertical position hardly changes. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the gripper 3 is always kept in a state in which the blade 5b is in contact with the clamper 4b, and it is possible to grasp and hold the bundle P of newspapers.

Further, as described above, the blade 5b is balanced by its own weight and the weight balance between the wheel 6 and the wheel 6 unless the external force acts on the blade 5b. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the wheel 6 is biased toward the clamper 4b side with respect to the pin 5a, and the base end of the blade 5b is located away from the pin 5a. For this reason, if the wheel 6 is not constrained in the vertical direction by the guide rail 1 and the moment on the wheel 6 side is set to be large, the swing arm 5 and the blade 5b can be set.
Tries to rotate counterclockwise around the pin 5a. Therefore, if no external force acts, the blade 5b comes to take a posture of separating from the clamper 4b.

If the spring constant of the spring 5c is increased to some extent, not only can the blade 5b maintain its posture when opened, but also the opening operation can be speeded up and the blade 5b can be supplied at high speed. The stack P of printing papers is reliably received. Further, when the bundle P of newspapers is received, the subsequent blade 5b presses the bundle P that is about to move to the preceding blade 5b from above by the biasing force of the spring 5c, and the rebound of the bundle P is restricted. A prompt receiving operation becomes possible.

Here, in order to grip and transfer the bundle P of newspapers conveyed from the belt conveyor 50 by the gripper 3, the blade 5b is separated from the clamper 4b at the timing of supplying the bundle P and the gripper 3 is moved. It is necessary to open the gripping mechanism. Due to such an operation, as shown in FIG. 2, the guide surface 1a below the guide rail 2 is
A bottom 1d is provided which has a stepped portion and is dropped below.

The bottom 1d is incorporated as a separate member with respect to the guide surface 1a of the continuous guide frame 1, and the level of the wheel 6 temporarily decreases while passing through the bottom 1d. That is, as explained above,
Because the wheel 6 connected to the upper end of the swing arm 5 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 4 due to the weight balance around the pin 5a, the swing arm 5 is swung by utilizing the level drop of the bottom 1d portion. be able to. As a result, the blade 5b that rotates together with the swing arm 5 moves in a direction away from the clamper 4b, and is ready to receive the bundle P of newspapers.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bottom 1d provided in the guide rail 1 is a belt conveyor 5
It is located almost directly above the terminal end of 0 and between the auxiliary rollers 51 arranged downstream thereof.

In the above structure, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bundle P of newspapers is supplied by the belt conveyor 50, and the chain 2 runs at a speed slightly lower than the supply speed. Since the gripper 3 has a small degree of freedom in the up-down direction of the wheel 6 rolling in the guide rail 1, depending on the posture of the swing arm 5 around the pin 5a, the clamper 4b.
On the other hand, the blade 5b is closed.

When one gripper 3 reaches the bottom 1d portion while the chain 2 is running, the wheel 6 has a large degree of freedom to move downward, and the swing arm 5 is in the initial state as shown in FIG. To rotate counterclockwise. As a result, for the bundle P of newspapers sent from the belt conveyor 50, the clamper 4b to the blade 5b
Is opened, and the bundle P of newspapers is inserted into the gripper 3 due to the speed difference between the flow conveyor 50 and the chain 2.

Upon completion of this insertion, the bottom 1d
If the so as to position the end, the wheel 6 is moved upward to rest the guide surface 1a guide <br/> rail 1. As a result, the swing arm 5 is forcibly rotated in the clockwise direction around the pin 5a in FIG. 2, and accordingly, the blade 5b is rotated so as to be lifted to the clamper 4b side.
Therefore, the inserted bundle P of newspapers is sandwiched between the clamper 4b and the blade 5b and is transferred as it is.

During this transfer period, the wheel 6 rolls while being held by the surfaces 1a and 1b of the guide rail 1 without a large distance from the pin 5a, so that the blade 5b is always in a predetermined position. Be bound by force. Such a restraining force locks the sandwiching force of the bundle P of newspapers by the clamper 4b and the blade 5b. Therefore, the gripping force of the gripper 3 can be stably maintained during the transfer period after the clamping.

Further, even when the bundle P of newspapers clamped by the gripper 3 is conveyed to a target position and then released, it can be operated by utilizing the rotation of the swing arm 5 at the bottom 1d portion in the previous example. Is. For example, FIG.
, The leftmost gripper 3 is empty,
If the bundle P of newspapers is clamped and run in the same manner as in the previous example, the restraint by the clamper 4b and the blade 5b is released at the bottom 1d portion.
The bundle P of newspapers is discharged without being connected to the conveying line.

In this way, by providing the bottom 1d on a part of the guide rail 1, all that is necessary is to restrain, lock and release the bundle P of newspapers by the gripper 3 only by changing the degree of freedom of the wheel 6 in the vertical direction. Is possible. Further, it is not necessary to incorporate a mechanism for locking the gripper 3 itself, and the weight thereof can be reduced.

[0033]

According to the present invention, all of the gripping and releasing of the printed matter by the gripper and the locking at the time of transfer can be covered by the relationship between the wheel of the gripper and the guide rail having the bottom partly provided. For this reason, the mechanism for clamping and releasing the gripper is extremely simple, and the number of components is small, so that the manufacturing cost is low and the energy saving is achieved by the weight reduction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a main part of a transportation facility of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the transfer facility shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view of the gripper as viewed from the front side in the transport direction thereof, showing the guide rail and the chain.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cutaway plan view showing a gripper and a chain in a guide rail.

FIG. 6 is a left side view of the gripper.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Guide rail 1a Guide surface 1b Guide surface 1c Guide slit 1d Bottom 2 Chain 3 Gripper 4 Base block 4a Post 4b Clamper 5 Swing arm 5a Pin 5b Blade 5c Spring 6 Wheel

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of grippers for restraining printed matter are made movable in a guide rail and connected to a conveying means.
A transport facility capable of receiving or releasing the printed matter by opening / closing operation of the gripper and traveling by a transporting means, wherein the gripper is provided integrally with a base block and faces the back side when viewed in the traveling direction. A clamper that abuts the upper surface of the printed matter, a blade that has a base end on the front side when viewed in the traveling direction, and has a tip that abuts the lower surface of the printed matter and can grip the printed material together with the clamper, and a blade that is provided on one end side The guide rail includes an oscillating arm that is swingably connected to the base block, and a wheel that is attached to the other end of the oscillating arm and has a center of gravity deviated toward the clamper side. A cross-sectional shape that loosely restrains the surface, and the vertical direction of the wheel is provided at a portion corresponding to the position where the printed matter is received or released. Transport facility of the printed material or the like to be provided with a bottom to increase the Yoshido.